Teen pursues rewarding pencil drawing passion
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Sunday April 3, 2022 14:51
According to Tamado, using one's artistry is very rewarding in terms of profitability than idling on the streets without any source of income. He told Arts and Culture that ever since he started using his pencil drawing for commercial portraits, he has managed to save income for his tertiary journey.
The young artist obtained 43 points in the Form 5 results released early this year and was looking forward to being admitted to University of Botswana to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree.
He shared that as part of his preparations for tertiary, he swallowed his pride and used his visual artistry skills for start-up capital. He added: “I didn’t want to be lazy and just be home doing nothing whilst waiting for my results. So I gathered all my materials and went to Tutume mini-mall to draw people’s portraits and it was very rewarding.”
Whilst Tamado was drawing portraits in the mall, he said that some of his customers asked for photos.
Furthermore, he did not waste any time and asked for his uncle’s camera and started playing around with it.
He added: “I knew nothing about the camera, so I had to study it by changing the picture quality, balancing the light and editing the pictures. After some time my self-taught skills bore fruits.”
The young artist stated that with his drawing and self-taught camera skills, he generated income and was able to buy whatever he wants without stressing his parents. He said that he is not from a poor family background but being financially independent was everything any person would dream of.
He indicated that he is still going to continue with his side hustle in tertiary because the living allowance itself is not enough. Therefore, Tamado urged his mates, especially those in tertiary to start their side business so that they don’t entirely depend on their allowance for all their expenses.
When speaking about his visual artistic skills, he said that he likes drawing the old Masai people with wrinkles, which often helps him improve his shading skills. Currently, he stated that he is almost a pro with ballpoint drawing. He gave all his gratitude to his former art teacher, Vusi Muchipela, who pushed him to love art and do well in the subject.
Tamado added: “I obtained an overall Grade A in art from Form 3 to the recent released Form 5 results and it is all thanks to Mr Muchipela. He taught me all the art principles and elements such as proposition, contrast and value, which are still guiding me today on my side hustle.”
The talented artist said ever since he started using his skills and creativity, his life has changed for the better.